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FEBRUARY 16, 2018
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Food &
Pickleball comes to town by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
Local pickleball players have long dreamed of playing on courts in Brentwood. Last week, their dreams became a reality. The City of Brentwood debuted three pickleball courts overlaid on the Creekside Park basketball court last Friday, drawing more than 40 players during a three-hour drop-in session. The sport – which incorporates elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong – is played with a small wooden or composite paddle and a whiffle-like ball on a surface the size of a doubles badminton court. The net is smaller than a tennis-court net. “I am totally excited,” said pickleball player Trisha Meikle, a Summerset resident. “I play it over (at Summerset) too, but now it will be easy for my friends and family to come play. It’s opened up my life to whole new people, and I have my grandchildren playing.” At the request of a large group of area pickleball players, the overlay idea was pushed forward to the Brentwood Park and Recreation Commission, which approved the plans to paint three pickleball courts on the Creekside Park basketball court at a cost
of $1,963. That also included the portable nets, game balls and a fence to be used free of charge by the community during drop-in hours. The mobile game components are stored in a locked box on-site during off hours, allowing the continued use of the basketball hoops and court. There are an estimated 200 pickleball players in the area, including a 70-member group in the Brentwood Summerset community and a 60-person group in Discovery Bay, said Brentwood resident Monte Winterhalter, a United States Pickleball Association ambassador. “We are off to a great start,” Winterhalter said, as the sound of paddles hitting balls filled the air. Brentwood resident David Smookler agreed. Smookler had been holding free drop-in pickleball sessions on city tennis courts for about two years but was prohibited from altering the surfaces, forcing him to put down rubber markers that would often move when stepped on. Until now, the only other option for players wanting to play in Brentwood was see Pickleball page 11